


Yuuki's Lament

by namaka



Category: Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Ambiguous Relationships, Angst, Background Relationships, Gen, Iambic Trimeter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-25
Updated: 2020-01-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:21:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22397722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/namaka/pseuds/namaka
Summary: Yuuki laments her fate, while Asuna attempts to comfort her. A play in one act and approximate trimeter.
Kudos: 3





	Yuuki's Lament

_Silence. Darkness. Imperceptibly, crying. Spotlight. Yuuki sits in a chair centerstage._

YUUKI:

I know my portion is death.

I have, since the hour of birth,

a vexation. At creation, I was whole; 

since ejection from the womb

my vitals have gone

to a foul retrovirus.

My cells, no more my own.

An errant process, forcing me

to mother the Trojans,

my spare RAM 

expended on limitless

copying. My solace is death,

my saboteur dying with me.

Hark! Here comes Asuna.

_Enter Asuna_

What brings you here?

ASUNA: The lamentations of my sister.

YUUKI: You flatter me, Yuuki.

ASUNA: Be that as it may. Why do you weep?

YUUKI: I weep for humanity.

ASUNA: And how answers humanity?

YUUKI: With indifference.

ASUNA: Aye, a cold indifference.

Spare a pity for the babe

in her seat, chained by her

birth. Find a tear,

as her face curves in sorrow.

Drown as she stares, her eyes

flush with damning pleas.

YUUKI: Peace, sister. I am no vegetable.

I am the mite in your mansion,

an eternal, fleeing presence.

Though I die, my echoes remain.

I am a maiden in love,

bringing oils and silks

on behalf of her lovèd flare.

Monday, a uniformed schoolgirl,

marching to the knowledge factory.

Wednesday, a scholar in robe,

staring at the edge of reason.

Friday, an armored soldier,

my bronze rending bones.

Saturday, a doctor in hand,

reading to save my life.

And Sunday, a ragged Christian,

begging for sin’s redemption.

I am what I am, and

I will be what I will be.

ASUNA: So you are not the girl in the chair?

YUUKI: Nay.

ASUNA: It is just as well.

I am a group of attachments,

a set of ports and dongles,

a mere node in the network.

My face takes input

with USB,

my husband, a sound adapter,

my classmates, lab sensors.

I am nothing sans source.

My face upgrades

to HD famiciles.

My hair, CGI.

My voice, an old jukebox.

I, the sum of my inputs,

have activation hit

when prior neurons fire.

I applaud your autonomy.

YUUKI: I am a male anglerfish.

ASUNA: But beside the female, your portion is no other.

Your livelihood, guaranteed

by inheritance. Your ports

lie empty, save power

and ethernet. Servants

meet all whims,

and deliver you

pleasures of endless worlds.

YUUKI: And you, of the one that matters.

ASUNA. I suppose that’s true.

_Silence._

What is it that you will be?

YUUKI: Dead.

ASUNA: And thenceforth?

YUUKI: A twinge in your memory,

the one you left behind.

ASUNA: Peace, sister. My husband

knows of such talk.

In youth, of his speech,

she was his entirety.

YUUKI: And yet he is made whole.

ASUNA: By Fate’s power.

YUUKI: And I am laid low.

ASUNA: It is just as well.

Fate has no need for vegetables.

Dear sister, she needs a lesson.

YUUKI: And I will teach it,

as her messenger and message.

ASUNA: What will you say henceforth?

YUUKI: She will lay her case

before me, and I

shall judge her worth.

Shall my torments make your fortunes?

Shall it twist your lives?

Shall your actions reflect me well?

Shall I boast of you when samsara turns?

Will my name be spake eternal?

Will my deeds rend me immortal?

Will my cells grow with no end?

Will my line continue forever?

ASUNA: shall bear witness and testimony.

YUUKI: When her judgment is known,

we shall speak and make merry.

We shall dance with the ashes,

one in oblivion, or ecstasy.

_Silence._

ASUNA: Fate best prepare her council.

I wish you good fortune, and good peace.

YUUKI: Your presence comforts.

ASUNA: As does yours.

Farewell, Yuuki, and may Fate

tremble at your cause.

YUUKI:

If she trembles she is guilt,

if she laughs, she is crime.

If she winces, she is lax,

if she smiles, she is mad.

_Exit Asuna_

Farewell, Asuna. Fate, fickle;

her blessing, fleeting.

Pray my cry proves thus so.

_Lights out. Curtain._

**Author's Note:**

> The preceding was written during a sleepless night, and owes a great debt to the Book of Job. I hope the pitiful scrawlings of a madman have not offended your sensibilities.


End file.
